


Into The Unknown

by JMount74



Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Category: Thunderbirds
Genre: Blood, Death, Gen, Injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-10-15
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27031426
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JMount74/pseuds/JMount74
Summary: Has another avalanche succeeded in claiming another Tracy? Or will there be a rescue after all?
Series: Whumptober 2020 [13]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1946881
Kudos: 10
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Into The Unknown

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober Prompt 15: Into The Unknown: Magical Healing

The avalanche site was an absolute nightmare. 

High in the Tibetan mountains, there was little room for manoeuvre, horrific crosswinds and nowhere to land.

John had suggested, and Scott ensured, that both Alan and Gordon had their own jet packs, and the three of them were locating survivors and jetting them up to Two for treatment. It was an arduous and tiring day and EOS had just confirmed 15 more life signs to find.

The majority of the life signs seemed concentrated in one area, and Scott thought it was probably a cave. It was a reasonable assumption as by now they had little hope of finding anyone else alive. Directing Alan to start looking in that area, he and Gordon carried on with the individual signs, planning to join with Alan once they had finished.

Scott had just flown down to help Alan and Gordon had just uncovered the last stray person when the family’s worst nightmare repeated itself.

There was little warning of the second avalanche. EOS had shouted down the comms only seconds before the snow hit, and Virgil and John watched, horrified, as the snow buried their three brothers. 

There was a lot of noise. Someone was shouting and someone was shaking him. Gordon groaned and tried to bat away whichever annoying brother was shaking his arm. It didn’t work. And now that he thought about it, that voice was not familiar. He cracked open an eye to see a stranger’s face staring back at him, concern written all over it. What was going on?

Trying to sit up, he racked his brains for an answer. The stranger helped him and as he became more perpendicular he saw the snow. It all came back. He’d been about to ferry this man up to Two when the snow hit. Giving himself a once over, he decided he wasn’t hurt, just a bit stunned, probably no concussion. Checking the man over he was relieved to see he wasn’t too hurt either, just a gash down one leg that he had treated before. He gave the man a grin and he returned it.

A cable was suddenly hanging just in front of him, and he grinned again. Somehow Virgil had extended the cable and the two clung to it as they were reeled in. He Took the man directly to the infirmary to where the others were waiting, then made his way to the cockpit and the others.

Arriving, he was immediately folded into a bear hug. Gordon patted Virgil’s arm and removed his helmet. The comms had to have been damaged as he had not heard anything from his brothers. Talking about his brothers, he looked around. Where were they?

‘Where are Scott and Alan, Virg?’ he asked, suddenly dreading the answer. Virgil looked at him, and the sheer pain in his face made Gordon’s knees go weak. ‘I don’t know,’ his brother said, ‘they’re buried somewhere. John and EOS are scanning.’

Gordon nodded and swallowed. Feelings of déjà vu were assaulting all of them – Scott and Alan had been buried with their mom on that last day. Part of Gordon’s mind, the big brother part, was glad that at least Alan wasn’t alone. But the bigger part was fighting the feelings of complete hopelessness.

Their family couldn’t go through this again.

Please.

And then John’s voice came over the comms.

‘I – I can’t find any life signs.’

And the world went black

\-------------------------------------------------------

Alan stirred to the light touch of hands on his arms and legs. He was being gently picked up and carried, but he was too out of it to care. He was carried a small distance and gently laid on something soft. The hands disappeared. Alan thought about waking up, but he really didn’t want to. He hurt all over and he wasn’t sure why.

A few minutes passed and Alan decided it was probably about time he worked out what was going on. Opening his eyes, only to shut them immediately at the bright light that assailed him, he took a couple of deep breaths and tried again.

He was lying on some kind of couch, in a garden? No – a park. There were men dressed like Buddhist monks milling around the edge of the clearing, but none coming near him. He sat himself up, pleased when there was no nausea and little pain, wondering what he was doing here.

It was then that he caught sight of Scott. He was also laid out on a similar couch, but he was surrounded by five men who were busy working on him. Alan could see the blood dripping onto the ground under his big brother. As he watched they drew a white cloth over his face.

With a cry, Alan was up and hurrying across the clearing, only to be stopped by one of the monks from the edge. He struggled to get free, but the monk was talking to him in a calming voice and a grip of iron. He knew he couldn’t get free, and as he stopped resisting the words became clear to him.

‘Do not fret, Master Tracy,’ the monk was saying. Alan was taken aback. He couldn’t hold back the sobs as he tried to get to Scott. All he wanted was his brother, but the monk was not letting him go.

‘Fret? My brother is dead, why won’t you let me go to him?’ he cried out, the desolation in him threatening to overwhelm him. The monk simply pulled Alan closer until he was almost holding him, with Alan in front watching Scott and the monk behind, arm over Alan’s shoulder and holding him tight.

‘Do not fret, Master Alan,’ her repeated. ‘Master Scott is not dead yet.’ Alan didn’t say anything, but he stilled. ‘Really? He looks dead,’ he retorted. The monk nodded. 

‘It is bad. Were this anywhere else and were you anyone else he would have died.’ Alan pondered the man’s words. He didn’t have a clue what he was talking about, and his puzzlement must have shown on his face for the man chuckled. ‘You and your brothers still have much work to do before you each meet your mother. Do not fret, Master Alan.’ Alan stood there with is mouth open.

They stood together watching the monks working on Scott. They applied a paste to his wounds and removed the cloth from off his head, trying to get him to swallow some kind of liquid. Then they bound his shattered leg and arm tightly, and wound cloth around his torso.

Alan was getting itchy to get to his brother, but once the monks had finished they rolled him onto what could pass as a stretcher and, one monk to a corner and one to lead, they headed towards a lake. The monk once again held Alan back as the monks entered the water and submerged Scott completely. He had counted to one minute before they raised him up out of the water and returned to where Alan was.

Placing the stretcher onto the couch where Alan had awoken, they removed the cloth from off Scott’s face and torso, leaving just his arm and leg bound. The monk now let go of Alan, and he wasted no time rushing over to his brother. Kneeling by Scott’s head, Alan was running his hand through Scott’s hair, tears still coursing down his face, when Scott suddenly drew in a deep gasp and coughed.

Alan fell back in shock. He felt like he had spent most of his time here, wherever here was, with his mouth open, but as Scott moved and attempted to get up Alan was there like a shot. The monk that had been looking after Alan now spoke again.

‘Welcome back, Master Scott. We humbly offer our thanks for your efforts to save our brothers.’ Scott nodded as if he knew what was going on. ‘You were most gravely injured, but in payment for your kind deeds and pure heart we have healed you.’ Scott cleared his throat. ‘I thank you, both for myself and for my brothers.’ Alan puzzled over how Scott knew what to say.

Before he had time to think any further, they were led out of the park into a short tunnel. It got colder the further from the park they went, until they could see the entrance was blocked with snow. It was with a jolt Alan remembered what they had been doing. Easing Scott down by the wall, he turned to thank the monk only to find that they had disappeared.

‘What the hell!’ he exploded. Scott grinned. ‘Watch your language, sprout.’ Alan stared at his brother. He could not believe anything that happened. Sighing, Alan took a seat next to Scott, waiting for their brothers to dig them out.

‘You died Scott. I watched you die.’ It was said in the quietest voice, but Scott heard. He put his good arm around Alan’s shoulders and pulled him in for a hug, kissing his forehead as Alan broke down into quiet sobs.

‘I’m sorry Alan. I really am.’ He felt Alan nod. ‘I believe we stumbled into the mythical place of Shangri-La.’ Alan sat up, pulling away slightly so he could see Scott’s face. ‘You’ll have to ask John for the details of the place. All I know is I was hurting but now I’m not. And all the while I could hear Mom’s voice telling me everything was going to be alright.’ Alan drew in a sharp breath. ‘But, not a word to our brothers. They do not need to know how close it really was.’

Alan shot Scott a sceptical look. ‘How are we going to explain your bandaged leg and arm?’ he asked. Scott shot him a grin so wide it looked like it would split his face in two. ‘Oh no, I mean to tell them about the monks. Nothing is going to bake their noodles more than us being treated by disappearing monks!’ Alan laughed, and the world felt right again.

Meanwhile, John and EOS had been frantically scanning the mountain while Virgil and Gordon had started digging in the area Alan had been last. There had been nothing on the scanners for 10 minutes when suddenly two life signs appeared out of nowhere.

‘I’ve got them, Virg!’ John almost shouted. ‘You’re almost through to them.’ The two brothers doubled down in their efforts and not five minutes later were met with the sight of Scott and Alan sitting on the floor laughing their heads off.

Exchanging puzzled looks, Virgil asked who had dressed Scott’s injuries, and they were further perplexed when that question was met by more laughter. Gordon just shrugged his shoulders. ‘There’s something spooky going on, and it’s not yet Hallowe’en,’ he said. ‘Let’s just get home.’

Scott reached out and placed his good arm on Virgil’s shoulder and gave him a squeeze. ‘Yes,’ he said, suddenly serious, ‘let’s all go home.’


End file.
